In a dramatic day of wealth shuffling, Elon Musk has retaken his crown as the world’s richest person after briefly losing it to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. The financial seesaw came after Oracle’s stock skyrocketed on strong earnings tied to artificial intelligence (AI) demand.
Ellison’s wealth soared Wednesday when Oracle’s stock surged as much as 43% during the day—the company’s biggest stock jump since 1992. By day’s end, however, the stock settled with a still-impressive 36% gain, closing at $328.33.
This massive spike temporarily pushed Ellison to the top of the global wealth rankings. The financial gap between the two tech titans is remarkably thin. Musk ended the day with a fortune of $384.2 billion, just $1 billion ahead of Ellison’s $383.2 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
Behind this wealth rollercoaster is Oracle’s aggressive push into AI computing. During an earnings call, Ellison revealed the company had secured over $300 billion in new deals, including partnerships with OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia, and ironically, Musk’s own AI company, xAI.
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“AI changes everything,” Ellison declared during the call, a statement that resonated with investors who drove Oracle’s stock to record highs.
The 81-year-old Ellison, who owns roughly 40% of Oracle, saw his personal wealth increase by about $89-101 billion in a single day, depending on the time of measurement—a staggering amount that highlights how concentrated ownership amplifies wealth swings.
Oracle’s success comes from its cloud infrastructure services, which are increasingly in demand for AI applications. The company projected its cloud infrastructure revenue would jump 77% to reach $18 billion this fiscal year, with long-term projections suggesting it could hit $144 billion within four years.
The stock surge also pushed Oracle into the S&P 500’s top 10 companies by market value, leapfrogging business giants like Eli Lilly, Walmart, and JPMorgan Chase.
Meanwhile, Musk’s wealth remains heavily tied to Tesla, which has moved in the opposite direction of Oracle. Tesla’s stock has dropped 14% so far in 2025, reflecting challenges in the electric vehicle market. Despite these headwinds, Musk’s diversified holdings in SpaceX, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter) have helped maintain his position atop the wealth rankings.
This financial reshuffling has created a new top 10 billionaire lineup. Following Musk and Ellison are Mark Zuckerberg ($264 billion), Jeff Bezos ($252 billion), Google co-founders Larry Page ($210 billion) and Sergey Brin ($196 billion), former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ($172 billion), luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault ($162 billion), Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang ($154 billion), and Dell founder Michael Dell ($151 billion).
The enormous scale of these fortunes is difficult to comprehend. Each could support the lifestyles of 5 million average American households for an entire year—roughly the population of Florida. Alternatively, they could fund a year-long vacation for every person in South Africa without impacting the country’s economy.
The extraordinary wealth fluctuations underscore how today’s billionaire rankings are increasingly influenced by AI developments. Companies positioned to benefit from this technology shift are seeing their stock values—and their founders’ fortunes—soar to unprecedented heights.
For Ellison, even a brief stint as the world’s richest person marks a significant milestone in his career. For Musk, who first claimed the top spot four years ago, maintaining his position will likely depend on whether Tesla can reverse its current downward trend and whether his other ventures continue to grow in value.
